Who we are:

Special consultant and liaison to Kenya: Iddah Otieno is an Associate Professor of English at Bluegrass Community and Technical College, Lexington, Kentucky. She received her B.Ed. (English Emphasis) at Maseno University, Kenya, in 1994 before relocating to the United States of America where she earned her M.A. (English) at Eastern Kentucky University in 2001. Iddah is a doctoral candidate at the University of Kentucky’s Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation specializing in Higher Education. Her research interest revolves around comparative international education, with special emphasis in African Higher Education in the postcolonial era. Iddah is a dedicated educator with international experience which she shares with her colleagues and students. She has taught English in Africa and the United States for the past sixteen years. Iddah also directs the Kenya Faculty Exchange Program at Bluegrass Community and Technical College, the first linkage with Africa within the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). She has managed successful exchange visits between Maseno University and Bluegrass Community and Technical College since 2003. She lives in Richmond, Kentucky, with her husband, Dr. Tom Otieno, Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, and her three children, Ephraim, Christopher, and Becky.
Email: iddah.otieno@kctcs.edu

Liaison from Okela Village, Kenya: Eunice Ogal is our Kenya contact. She is a teacher at the Okela Primary School, a member of the Board of Governors (BOG) Okela Primary School, and church teacher at St. Stephen's Okela Church. She has done a wonderful job sending reports and updates, as well as providing pictures of the progress they have made.
Mailing Address: Okela Primary School P.O Box 54 Rageng'ni

Co-President: Carol Holzhausen Hunt received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from Purdue University and Ball State University in Indiana. She taught at Ball State University, Moravian College and Allentown College in Pennsylvania, Eastern Kentucky University, and for 22 years, at Bluegrass Community and Technical College. She retired from BCTC in June 2008. Carol played many roles at BCTC: division chairperson, coordinator of General Education, co-founder of the Kenyan Exchange Program, and Coordinator of the Developmental Program. She specialized in cultural studies classes, teaching black literature, Native American literature, Women’s Studies, and Peace Studies, and emphasizing service-learning projects and global awareness. She received the state award for outstanding Developmental Educator in 1995, the Carolyn Beam Faculty Award in 1999, and was named the U.S. Professor of the Year for 2007 for the state of Kentucky, a national award given by the Carnegie Foundation. As part of the BCTC international exchange programs, she traveled to China and Kenya. With help from several of her students and guidance from her colleague, Iddah Otieno, she founded the Okela School Charities, which became a non-profit corporation in August 2008.
Email: cahunt01@gmail.com

Co-President: Veronica Heacox received her degree in nursing in 1999. She has specialized in cardiac recovery, ICU nursing, and post anesthesia care of patients. She also is a co-writer of a critical care guide for nurses. She is currently attending the University of Louisville with a pre-med focus. Veronica is passionate about charity work, and has been part of Okela School Charities since 2005
Email: vrblondeone@aol.com

Vice President: Rebecca McCane is an assistant professor of biology at Bluegrass Community and Technical College. She lives in Berea, Kentucky, with her husband and three teenage children.
Email: rebecca.mccane@kctcs.edu

Secretary: My name is Molly Hukle. I currently live in Lexington, Kentucky and have been here since 1992. I was born and raised near Toledo, Ohio. I have also lived in Pennsylvania, and in Seoul, South Korea for a short time when I was younger. I have been married since 2000, and have two children, a boy and a girl. I am going to school to be a nurse. I love to help people and feel nursing is my calling. I met the other ladies of this group during one of their fundraisers and was so inspired by what they were doing. They welcomed me into their group and have made me feel like I’ve been with them from the beginning. It is truly rewarding to work alongside such a wonderful and caring group of ladies. I feel so blessed to be a part of this organization and so proud of the changes that we have made in the Okela villager’s lives.
Email: mrbear22@gmail.com

Treasurer: My name is Erin Wellman. I was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. I am married to a wonderful and supporting husband, and I have a beautiful step daughter. I recently graduated from BCTC in May of 2007, with anAssociate in Arts with a focus in business. I am pleased to be a part of such a wonderful organization, with some of the kindest women I have ever met.
Email: erinleonard2@hotmail.com

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The Okela officers would like to acknowledge the contributions of Melissa Adkins to Okela School Charities. Melissa was instrumental in the founding of our charity and served as vice-president, then for two years as co-president. Without her energy, enthusiasm, and work, the organization would not be what it is today. She stayed up many nights baking cookies and cakes for fundraisers and spent many hours making posters and banners. We thank her sincerely and wish her well in the new directions her life is taking.

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Board Member: Dr. Shirley Whitescarver is a professor of Anatomy and Physiology at Bluegrass Community and Technical College. She received her doctorate in Physiology from the University of Kentucky and after several years in research, she has been teaching allied health students Human Anatomy and Physiology for 15 years. In the summer of 2007 she was lucky enough to travel to Kenya and visit the Okela School. She is now committed to working to help improve the school and the lives of the students in Kenya.
Email: shirley.whitescarver@kctcs.edu

Board Member: Michael Reed is Professor of Agricultural Economics and Director of International Programs for Agriculture. Reed holds a Ph.D. in economics (with a minor in statistics) from Iowa State University (1979); he has been at the University of Kentucky since 1978. His principal area of research and teaching is international trade in agricultural products. His research includes the effects of macroeconomic policies and exchange rates on U.S. food exports, the dynamics of consumer demand in various countries, and the effects of competition patterns on world agricultural trade patterns. Reed has the most widely used textbook in agricultural trade – International Trade in Agricultural Products; published by Prentice-Hall (also published in China) – and has published widely in the area of agricultural trade and commodity price analysis. He was also co-editor of a book entitled Competitiveness in International Food Markets (Westview Press). He has wide-ranging international experience. He was executive director of the Center for Agricultural Export Development during its life (1988-1995) and has been an international consultant for many organizations, including The Economist Intelligence Unit, Schaeffer Global Group, the US Agency for International Development, and various university and government organizations.
Email: mrreed@email.uky.edu

Board Member: Charlene Walker is Vice-President of Multiculturalism and Inclusion at Bluegrass Community and Technical College. She maintains rank as full professor in Student Development and Counseling.  She has a Masters degree in Counseling and Bachelors in Social Work from Eastern KY University. She has post graduate work in Women’s Studies and Appalachian Studies from the University of Kentucky and Diversity Management coursework from Cornell University in New York, NY. Prior to becoming involved in academia Charlene was employed as a social worker in the Appalachian region of Eastern Kentucky in Family and Protective Services.  She later served as a Physical Planner providing technical assistance to local governments in the Kentucky River Area Development district with primary focus on environmental audits.  Her first experience as an educator was the program director of a career awareness program for displaced homemakers for Hazard Community College.  She has presented extensively at State and National Conferences on issues related to sexism, racism and classism, and she has served as chair of the National Conference for Community and Justice.  She is a member of numerous civic and community organizations including (KODA) KY Organ Donors Association and KY Association of Blacks in Higher Education and is past Associate for The University of KY Appalachian Center. She is also an alumnus of Leadership Bluegrass and Leadership KY. She is the founder and director of CARNEGIE HALL, a STEM camp for high school juniors and seniors from the burgeoning population. Charlene resides in Lexington KY and is the mother of 2 adult children, Carmen and Colby, and the grandmother of 2 grandsons, Camdyn and Cadyn.
Email: charlene.walker@kctcs.edu

Board Member: James B. Goode recently retired from the University of Kentucky Community College System as Professor of English in 2003 and is presently Professor of English on the faculty of Bluegrass Community & Technical College in Lexington, Kentucky. Additionally, he is Coordinator of Tutorial Services for the BCTC System.   He most recently was a visiting Professor of English at Changsha University, China where he taught American Literature.  Other faculty exchanges include an appointment at the University of Wales and a visit to Maseno University in Kenya, Africa. He is an award-winning author of six books and has published numerous poems, short stories, and essays in magazines such as South Carolina Review, Huron Review, Ball State University Forum, Journal of Appalachian Studies, Appalachian Heritage, Journal of Kentucky Studies, and Kentucky Monthly.  He holds an A.A., B.A., & M.A. from the University of Kentucky and a M.F.A. in Creative Writing: Fiction from Murray State University. 
Email: james.goode@kctcs.edu

Board Member: Susan Schmidt – I am a retired educator of children for over thirty years. I am an Ohioan by birth and have lived in Kentucky since 1992. I taught in a Toledo, Ohio inner city school directly out of college. Thenfamily life became my focus when Molly was born followed three years later by her sister Liz. I decided to become director of a preschool and gradually worked my way back into full-time teaching as an ESL teacher and primary teacher. In 1984 we had the wonderful opportunity to take a two-year foreign assignment to Seoul, South Korea. While there I tutored Korean Nationals in English and did some ESL and reading tutoring at Seoul Foreign School. My husband and I relocated to Cologne, Germany for business for a short time in 1999. I look forward to working with the Okela Foundation and appreciate the opportunity to do so.
Email: sschmidt1219@gmail.com

Volunteer: Rebecca Glasscock's special interest is care for the earth. She teaches environmental studies (at UK), geography and peace studies (at BCTC). Prior to teaching, her career was as a government environmentalist in the state of Washington. Her education includes a BS in psychology from the University of North Alabama, a MSPH in environmental sciences and engineering from the University of North Carolina, and a PhD in geography from the University of Kentucky.
Email: rebecca.glasscock@kctcs.edu

Volunteer: Jaqui Linder is a talented artist who lives in Nonesuch, Kentucky. For sixteen years, she was an Associate Professor of English and Women’s Studies at Bluegrass Community and Technical College. She retired from teaching in 2005 but continues to give guest presentations for Women’s Studies and Peace Studies classes. She designed the Okela School Charities stationery and the “Certificates of Giving,” which will be offered on our website during holiday times.

Volunteer:  Chrissy Herren is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Kentucky and will soon start her masters at the Martin School in Public Policy, with the goal of pursuing a career in arts policy. She has interned at the Lexington Children’s Theatre, the Lexington Ballet, WUKY, and KET. She also campaigned for Mayor Jim Gray of Lexington and has become very involved in the political process. Recently, she was awarded an internship with Congressman Ben Chandler for fall 2011. Chrissy was on the Board of Directors of Okela School Charities for three years and continues to volunteer her time to help during our annual fundraisers.